Metro Denver's housing market continued to struggle with a frighteningly low number of homes and condos available for sale in October, which helped push up prices and cut into the pace of sales, according to a monthly update out Friday from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors.
There were 6,312 homes and condos available for sale at the end of October, a record low for that month. From 1985 to 2016, buyers had on average 16,306 homes available to choose from at the end of October, and as many as 29,722 in October of 2006.
Historically, the number of listings drops 4.7% between September and October, part of the usual seasonal slowdown that takes place in the fall. But in 2017, the decrease was much larger at 16.8%.
The drop in inventory reflects a market where demand remained strong, but sellers put fewer new listings on the market, Steve Daniylw, chairman of the DMAR Market Trends Committee, noted in the report.
The number of single-family homes sold in October fell 9.8% from September to 3,172 and is down 8.1% from a year earlier. The median price of a home sold, at $415,000, is up 9.5% year over year, while the average price, $490,525, is still up double digits at 11.62%.
Condo sales in October, at 1,278, are down 9.6% from September and 7.5% from October 2016. The average price of a condo sold was $328,760, an increase of 5.3% from September and 13.04% from a year ago. The median price of a condo sold was $275,000, up 2.6% from September and 13.6% from a year ago.
Although those kind of price increases may suggest a hot market, agents in the metro area report more sellers are willing to come down from their listing prices to close a deal. And listings are taking longer to sell. The number of days a single-family home spent on the market in October versus September jumped 20% to 36.
